Lockheed M-21 with piggy-back D-21 (NASA Dryden)M-21 = A version of A-12 (USAF YF-12A) used to launch the D-21 unarmed strategic reconnaissance drone. The latter was also referred to as Q-12, although that was not a USAF designation. M-21 was a Lockheed designation only, and in which "12" was [purposely] reversed. First flight of the two M-21s [60-6940/6941] with the D-21 mounted was on 12/22/44; first launch of the D-21 on 3/5/66, followed by flights on 4/27 and 6/16/66. On 7/30/66, during the fourth flight, an M-21 and D-21 collided and the concept was abandoned. Instead another five D-21 flights were made from NASA's B-52 carrier aircraft. SEE Flight of Blackbirds.( Jos Heyman, 2/14/02, ref: Jay Miller's "Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works")O-3 - "Quiet Thrust" technology. SEE QT-2.

Lockheed YO-3A [N718NA] (NASA Dryden)YO-3A 1969 = Heavier version of QT-2 with a wider wing, military electronics, and 210hp Continental O-360D; v: 138/70-110/70 range: 600±. POP: 2 [69-14000/14001] became QT-2 [N2471W/2472W], and 14 [69-18000/18013], of which 1 to NASA [N718NA], 2 to LA Wildlife Dept [N14425/14426], and 2 to FBI [x, x]. Most were eventually re-registered in civil and NASA licenses or went to museums.

Lockheed YP-24 (Lockheed)P-24 (Altair XP-900) 1931 = 2pClwM; 675hp Curtiss V-1570; ff: 9/29/31. Robert Wood. Design continued as Consolidated P-25/P-30 when Wood left Detroit-Lockheed for Consolidated Co. POP: 1 prototype Y1A-g (did not fly), and 1 YP-24, aka Detroit YP-24.The doodle that became a legendIn 1937, Kelly Johnson scribbled some preliminary ideas on a scratch-pad when the AAC asked the aviation industry to come up with a design for a multi-engine fighter. One of those doodles affected the course of aviation history... it was called the P-38.P-38, F-4, F-5 Lightning (Models 22, 122, 222, 322, 422) - 1pCmwM rg; two 1150hp Allison V-1710; span: 52'0" length: 37'10" load: 1993# v: 417/393/80 range: 400. James Gerschler, Hall Hibbard, J J Johnson, Kelly Johnson. The first US fighter to exceed 400mph in level flight (Vought F4U was the first single-engine US plane to do so). Also built by Consolidated-Vultee Co. Nearly 10,000 were built by the end of WW2. SEE Lockheed P-38 in detail

Lockheed TP-38J Note blacked-out insigne [44-23492] (Tony LeVier coll)TP-38J (Model 422) 1944 = "The plane that never was." Although an unofficial designation, probably applied by those who came up with the idea of a "piggy-back" 2p radar night fighter, this shows up occasionally on USAF and Lockheed records as the field prototype for P-38L, subsequently P-38M.

Lockheed P-38M (USAF)P-38M 1945 = 2p night fighter in the Pacific with radar, and a raised rear seat for its operator. POP: 1 converted from P-38L. SEE TP-38J.

Lockheed P-322 [RAF AE992] (Tony LeVier coll)P-322 1941/42 = Originally destined for RAF in orders of 150 as Lightning I and 524 as Lightning II, only 3 actually made it to England. The rest were diverted to USAAF, with 150 as P-38F, 374 as P-38G, and 150 as various Models P-222, with some retaining this oddball P-322 designation.

Lockheed YP-80A Modified as XF-14 [44-83024] (Edwards FTC)YP-80A 1944 = 3850# Allison-GE J33-GE-11; ff: 9/13/44. POP: 13 [44-83023/83035], with 1 modified as XF-14 photo-recon [44-83024]. Appeared briefly in WW2 when 3 planes were shipped to Great Britain and 2 to Italy in late 1944 for use in field testing and non-combat patrols only; of those [44-83026] exploded in flight and [-83027], refitted with a R-R Nene engine, crash-landed after engine failure, both in England.

P2V-1 (Model 126) 1946 = POP: 17 [89082/89085, 89087/89096]. Of note was [89082] as Truculent Turtle used to set world non-stop distance record (Perth, Australia, to Columbus OH; 11,326 miles in 55h:17m) on 9/29/46.

QT-2, X-26B 1967 = POP: 2 converted from YO-3A [N2471W=67-15345=715345, N2472W=67-15346(?) (AF c/n uncertain as some records show that number as "not used")], both saw service in Vietnam as X-26B, with the first transferred to USN [715345]. One modified with larger tail, beefed-up wings, conventional gear, and a 185hp Wankel rotary with a six-blade prop.

Lockheed XR2O-1 [0267] (Clark Scott)R2O 1936 = Electra 10A to USN. POP: 2 as R20-1 and 1 as XR2O-1 for Secy of Navy [0267]; sold post-war surplus as [N57573].R3O 1936 = Electra 10B to USCG; two 440hp Wright R-976-E3. POP: 1 as XR3O-1 for Secy of Treasury [383=V151]. A sole 12A [NC33615] was impressed by USN in 1942 and curiously recorded as R3O-2 [02947] instead of the 12A's assigned JO designation, and shipped to Great Britain in 1944 for use by our Naval Attaché. Apparently it was sold there in late 1945 and acquired UK license [GAGTI], then went to France as [FBJJY-FAZLL]. A conflicting, non-USN report has it sold surplus post-war in the USA, reverting to its [NC33615], and ending up in use by several airlines.R4O 1939 = Electra 14 to USN as staff transport. POP: 1 as XR4O-1 [1441].R5O Lodestar - Model 18 purchased and impressed by USN. SEE ALSO C-56, -57, -59, -60, -66.

Lockheed Sirius 8 Special [NC118W] (Gene Palmer coll)8 Special 1929 (ATC 2-400, 2-423) = POP: 1 converted from 8 [NX211] c/n 140, and 1 from 8A [NR118W] c/n 152 for planned, but never implemented, 1930 NYC-Paris flight by George R Hutchinsonplane repossessed by Lockheed after a crash on 8/2/30 and rebuilt. (2-400) for 450hp P&W Wasp SC1 issued to film director Victor Fleming, its next owner 1931-34 [NC118W]. Sold back to Lockheed, who modified it with a fresh Wasp SE and a new wing as Altair 8D for Charles Kingsford-Smith's entry in the 1934 London-Melbourne MacRobertson Race as Anzac [NX118W]. Shipped to Australia, rechristened Lady Southern Cross [VHUSB]. Did not race, but was flown by Kingsford-Smith and P G Taylor on first Australia-USA flight 10/21-11/4/34. (2-423) for 550hp Wasp S1D1 and shipped to England in 1935 [GADUS], from where Sir Kingsford-Smith and Tommy Pethybridge set off for Melbourne, then vanished in a storm over the Bay of Bengal on 11/8/35.

Sky Zephyr SEE Invicta.Lockheed SR-71A Cockpit (Lockheed)SR-71 Blackbird - High-altitude recon. 2pCmwM rg; two 32500-34000# P&W J58 axial-flow turbojets with special afterburners; span: 55'7" length: 107'5" load: 112,000# v: Mach 3.5+ range: 3250 ceiling: 82,000'+. Titanium alloy construction covered with a special heat-emitting black paint to withstand temperatures up to 800&deg Fahrenheit caused by friction; folding wings. Evolved from A/F-12. POP total: 31; SEE Flight of Blackbirds. One [61-7972] flew from NY to London on 9/6/74, in four minutes short of two hours (p: Maj Thomas Estes, Maj Dewain Vick). Then, on 9/11/74, this plane made the return flight to Los Angeles in 3h:47m to set a new record (p: Capt Harold Adams, Maj William Machorek). On its final flight on transfer to NASM, 3/6/90, it went from California to Maryland in 68 minutes at an average speed of 2,124 mph. Except for two planes at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, where they are used as test-beds for high-altitude research, the SR-71s have now been retired. Military designation was originally RS-71 (Reconnaissance Strike) but, as he did when he introduced A-12 as "A-11," President Lyndon Johnson erroneously referred to it as "SR-71" at a press conference, and records were duly amended as such.

Lockheed T-33A (Lockheed)Lockheed T-33A Quad flight (USAF)T-33A 1948 = POP: almost 5,691, included 526 for USN as TV-2, and 1,058 for export. One built as experimental twin-tail version to test stability.

AT-33A 19?? = Modifications for tactical suipport duty.

DT-33A 19?? = Drone director.

Lockheed NT-33A [51-4120] (USAF Museum)NT-33A c.1950 = Longevity? After 46 years of military service, a much-modified NT-33A [51-4120] was retired by the USAF as its oldest operational aircraft on inventory. Delivered in Oct 1951, its historic career as a research aircraft ended in Sep 1997 when it was consigned to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. SEE sidebar.

TV SEE TO.Lockheed U-2 (USAF)U-2 1955 - High-altitude surveillance, originally built expressly for the CIA. 1pCmwM rg; 11200# P&W J75; span: 80'0" length: 49'7" v: 528 range: 4000 ceiling: 70,000'. Kelly Johnson et al; ff: 8/4/55 (p: Tony LeVier)the high-lift wings surprised LeVier by getting him to an altitude of 35' before he knew it during taxi trials that day! Designed around an F-104 fuselage. POP total U-2: 53. SEE ALSO TR-1. USAF s/ns [68-10341/10353] were not issued, but were sometimes used on U-2s for purposes of deception.

Lockheed U-2R (USAF Museum)U-2R 1969 = One production run in 1969 and a second in 1980. Aircraft produced in the first production run were designated U-2R and those from the second production were TR-1 and ER-2, but all were later redesignated U-2R. POP: 25 [68-10329/10340] (see NOTE above about succeeding s/ns).

Vega DL-1 1930 (ATC 308) = 5pChwM; 450hp P&W Wasp C; span: 41'0" length: 27'6" load: 1905# v: 178/153/60 range: 600. Prototype [NC497H] was built in Detroit, and shipped to Burbank for final assembly; the rest were built in Detroit. Duraluminum fuselage. POP: 4, of which the prototype was used by Amelia Earhart in setting three 1930 speed/load trials, rebuilt as DL-1B after a crash (p: Luke Christopher); 1 to AAC as Y1C-12 [31-405]; 1 [NC8495] to Stanavo with the eagle paint scheme, reregistered [NC239M] as Miss Streamline II (p: Roy Brown); one to Mazatlàn in 1942 [NC8496=XADAY] after several owners.

Vega DL-1B Special 1933 (ATC 2-448) = DL-1B with 450hp P&W Wasp SC. Constructed from Detroit Vega duraluminum fuselages and leftover parts of Burbank planes. POP: 2; [NC12288] and 1 for AAC as Y1C-17 [31-408]  at the time it was the fastest plane in the Army at 221mph.